ody, she realized it was early spring. Snakes fear the cold.She had made such an elementary mistake. Covering her face in embarrassment, she continued crouching down to admire the small flowers.Howeve...Chapter 19 Something Feels Off

Since that night, Qi Lin has not asked about Bai Qianye anymore and has devoted herself entirely to the water wheel project.

"Your Excellency, you should rest for a while. I see your complexion isn't good."

Qi Lin smiled slightly. This person was Feng Changqing's best carpenter, Zhou An. Just because Qi Lin casually mentioned that he was diligent and capable, she bestowed him with the rank of Ninth Rank official. Because of this, Zhou An treats her very respectfully, almost as if she were his benefactor.

"The Empress Dowager’s birthday is approaching; we must be careful and not make any mistakes." Even though Qi Lin said this, she felt a bit overwhelmed. She yawned and let Lvzhu support her to sit down on the side, massaging her shoulders as she checked the progress of the project. To her surprise, actually implementing it was much harder than just designing blueprints. Before, she had only worked with design drafts but never really put them into practice. Unbelievably, she had become a sales director.

Lvzhu handed her a cup of tea and massaged Qi Lin's shoulders for her. Seeing that Qi Lin was feeling sleepy, she hurriedly suggested, "Your Excellency, shall we go back to rest You can leave the supervision here with Director Zhou."

"That’s right. Your Excellency, you haven’t been resting properly these days. If your health suffers, His Majesty will blame me." Zhou An also tried to persuade her. Since they officially started construction a few days ago, Qi Lin had arrived early every day and left very late. Sometimes she even ate meals with them.

Qi Lin sighed softly. From others' perspective, it seemed that she was fulfilling her duties diligently; in reality, however, she didn't want to stay in the palace quarters where Bai Qianye was. Even though they were separated by a wall, occasionally Qi Lin would sneak some items near the hidden door entrance but still avoided meeting him.

Her eyes could barely open; it seemed spring had arrived and she was suffering from springtime lethargy.

With a wave of her hand, she allowed Lvzhu to help her back for rest.

This sleep was deep and long. If not for feeling extremely hungry, Qi Lin wouldn't have woken up. She realized it must be dinnertime when the surroundings were dimly lit.

After washing her face with cold water, she finally dispelled her sleepiness. Lvzhu had already prepared a table full of dishes; the aroma made Qi Lin's mouth water.

Without further ado, she picked up chopsticks and stuffed a piece of osmanthus chicken into her mouth. She thought it would taste good but found that it was bland. Trying other dishes also revealed they had no flavor. Even the soup tasted insipid.

"Why do everything seem so tasteless today" Is salt lacking in the imperial palace Frowning slightly, she ordered, "Get some salt."

Lvzhu looked confused at Qi Lin's request. She had carefully checked every dish and confirmed their flavors were normal like before. Could it be that her mistress was too tired recently Thinking this, Lvzhu instructed someone to fetch salt.

After adding several spoons of salt, Qi Lin finally found the dishes palatable and began eating with relish.

"Uh…" Was she supposed to say something But how should she start

"You all can leave. Lvzhu, stay." Dismissing the attendants, Qi Lin asked, "What is it"

This… After hesitating a moment, Lvzhu decided to speak up: "Your Excellency, where did you go that night I mean the night Captain Qin visited."

Feng Changqiang came!

Zi Lin was shocked, her eyes wide open without blinking as she asked cautiously, "And What happened"

"He just entered the young lady's bedroom but you weren’t there."

"Then what Why didn't anyone tell me Such a big matter, why wasn't it mentioned at all And Feng Changqiang didn’t even investigate

"The emperor said nothing and instructed me not to mention it. But" This was the part she found difficult; tightly gripping her hem, she continued, "But I feel that you should be informed since That night, the emperor waited in your bedroom for a long time before returning when it was time for court."

"He returned at the start of court hours" Zi Lin suddenly stood up, startling Green Bamboo who immediately lowered her head even lower. She remembered that day she had fallen asleep inside and didn’t come out until morning because she worried Bai Qianye would drown in the water. If she had left earlier, unimaginable consequences might have ensued. Unconsciously, she had gone through such a nerve-wracking experience. She continued to ask, "Then What did you say Oh wait, did the emperor say or do anything else"

"I would never dare to blurt out anything; I just said that you were in another palace and fortunately, the emperor didn’t order anyone to summon you." At this point, she was extremely relieved. But thinking back, it seemed like she was openly telling everyone Zi Lin wasn't around, which made her feel regretful. "But the emperor remained by your bedside all night without saying or doing anything."

This This makes things even more complicated.

Why did His Majesty suddenly come Could he be suspecting something

"You can go now." Zi Lin dismissed Green Bamboo, intending to think clearly.

After Green Bamboo left, Zi Lin walked over to the bed and contemplated whether she should ask Bai Qianye for help. But upon touching the bed, drowsiness overwhelmed her.

The urge to sleep swept over her, and just as she almost fell off the bed, she finally realized that there was something she needed to do. She swiftly opened a secret door, thinking, isn't it asking others for advice

Isn’t it true that in this century, women’s thickest skin is their face

"Bai Qianye, where are you" The premeditated lines she had rehearsed crumbled upon seeing the empty space. After searching around, all she saw was a steaming medicinal pool and not even a mosquito.

Indeed, he should be called Phantom who comes without trace and leaves without a sound.

Afraid to admit defeat after encountering an empty fortress tactic, she stumbled out of the secret door and fell asleep on the bed.

In the following days, aside from meals, Zi Lin spent most of her time sleeping. She often slept for half a day at a stretch; sometimes she would sleep all afternoon until midday the next day, eat lunch, walk around for two steps, and then continue to doze off.

This situation became increasingly apparent after Zi Lin realized that she couldn’t taste anything in her food. Could someone have poisoned her

To confirm this suspicion, she invited all the imperial physicians under various pretexts, but each one said there was nothing wrong with her and examined her food without leaving any trace. They checked everything possible, but everything seemed normal.

This made it even more terrifying.

After studying all the palace dramas she had watched and listening to stories from the side, she checked every method of poisoning but found nothing.

"Mistress, shall we go take a nap" After Qi Lin yawned dozens of times, Lüzhu finally suggested, "I will burn some calming incense."

Incense

How could she have forgotten this

"Lüzhu, bring out all the perfumes and spices I usually use." This time, something should be found.

However, after examining everything and even having an imperial physician look at them, nothing was discovered.

Nothing.

"Mistress, perhaps you are overthinking it" Seeing Qi Lin's distress, Lüzhu tried to comfort her. "Now that spring has come, many concubines feel drowsy. Some even slept all day."

"Maybe." But could their situation be the same They felt sleepy because they were overtired from excessive physical activity.

Curse it, if Bai Qianye was here, she could ask him something. But at this critical moment, he had disappeared without a trace.

She wondered how his injuries were and what he ate; what if the wound hadn't healed properly and he got sick from hunger

In the evening, Qi Lin sat hugging her knees thinking about this.

"The Emperor has arrived."

The announcement outside made Qi Lin pause. What could he want now Recalling that night's incident, Qi Lin perked up and put on some clothes.

"Your concubine greets the Emperor."

Phoenix Changqing went forward to help Qi Lin up and smiled, "I came here today because I have free time. How are you feeling"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."

Hurrying Phoenix Changqing to sit down, Qi Lin had Lüzhu bring out some fruit platters. At Phoenix Changqing's glance, Qi Lin peeled the fruits and offered them to him.

While observing Phoenix Changqing for any signs of unusual behavior, she still saw nothing after they ate most of the fruits. Was he just here to eat

"I will sleep here tonight."

"Huh"

"Tonight, I will sleep here. Help me change into my nightclothes."

"Oh Okay." Nodding with a reluctant expression, this was truly troublesome.

However, Qí Lín, who had expected to spend a sleepless night, was instantly overwhelmed by intense drowsiness upon touching the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

"Sleeping excessively isn't a good thing." Zi Yin gently blew on his tea, smelled its fragrance, feeling at ease as he said, "How is it After sleeping for three days, how do you feel"

After speaking, he looked towards the other side of the screen, and soon Bai Qianye was fully dressed, smiling as he walked out from behind, saying, "Everything is fine."

If everything's fine, then that's good.

"The imperial palace must have strengthened its defenses this time." Speaking seemed to be too much effort; pouring a cup of tea and handing it to Bai Qianye, he said, "I heard the Emperor went to沁泉軒 (Qin Quan Xuan).

Originally thinking there would be other expressions on Bai Qianye's face, unexpectedly, he remained calm as he sipped his tea.

"The Emperor truly values Qí Lín beyond measure."

"Isn't that good" Setting down the teacup and exhaling, he said, "Compared to this, what about that secret letter..."

At the mention of 'secret letter,' both fell silent. They had gone on their last mission in search of a secret letter, which also led to Bai Qianye clashing with Feng Changqing.

No doubt, Feng Changqing must have started suspecting his existence by now.

However, an idea had taken shape in both their minds.

"Your young lady is sleeping so soundly" Although he was used to rising early, it wasn't normal for her to sleep this deeply without any reaction. Frowning slightly, he asked, "Is the Thousand Carp Pool incident too exhausting for her Have the imperial kitchens prepare something she likes and send it over later."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Lüzhu and Jinyu hurriedly thanked him.

After getting dressed, Feng Changqing sat beside the bed and reached out to adjust the covers. However, Qí Lín grabbed his hand.

The captured hand was held in her palm, placed near her mouth. She found a suitable finger and put it inside her mouth, sucking on it like an infant would with a bottle, occasionally nipping at it with her teeth.

This action made those around him shudder; Lüzhu stared intensely at Feng Changqing, secretly worrying for Qí Lín, fearful he might order something to be done to her mistress.

Yet, Feng Changqing enjoyed this sensation, allowing Qí Lín to bite his finger for the duration of a cup of tea before getting up and leaving under Xiao Ningzi's anxious urging.

"Oh my heavens, you scared me half to death." Once Feng Changqing left, Lüzhu collapsed against the side of the bed, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead.with the water wheel while holding an account book and calculating something. She handed the tea to Qi Lin and said softly, "Lady Qi, would you like some tea"Putting down her notebook, she rubbed her...